UN P&G Online Version

SCOPE AND APPLICATION

1. The principles and guidelines concerning discrimination based on work and descent apply equally to all States and to all local, national, sub-regional, regional, and international governmental and non-governmental bodies.

DEFINITION

2. Discrimination based on work and descent is any distinction, exclusion, restriction, or preference based on inherited status such as caste, including present or ancestral occupation, family, community or social origin, name, birth place, place of residence, dialect and accent that has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment, or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, or any other field of public life. This type of discrimination is typically associated with the notion of purity and pollution and practices of untouchability, and is deeply rooted in societies and cultures where this discrimination is practiced.

3. Special measures taken for the sole purpose of securing adequate advancement of affected groups and individuals requiring such protection as may be necessary in order to ensure such groups or individuals equal enjoyment or exercise of human rights and fundamental freedoms shall not be deemed discrimination based on work and descent, provided, however, that such measures do not, as a consequence, lead to the maintenance of separate rights for different groups and that they shall not be continued after the objectives for which they were taken have been achieved. (2)

PRINCIPLES

4. Discrimination based on work and descent is a form of discrimination prohibited by international human rights law as proclaimed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and, inter alia, by the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the International Labour Organization Convention No. 111. (3)

5. Discrimination based on work and descent and other forms of discrimination are not only human rights violations but also major obstacles to achieving development. Inequalities inevitably diminish development gains and are among root causes of armed conflicts. Ineffective allocation of human resources due to discrimination based on work and descent distorts the labour market and affects the efficiency of an economy.

6. In addressing the problem of discrimination based on work and descent, special care should be taken to address the situation of women, children, the sick or disabled, the aged and people living below the poverty line. (4)

7. All States have a duty to acknowledge the existence of discrimination based on work and descent, to take all necessary constitutional, legislative, administrative, budgetary, judicial and educational measures to eliminate and prevent discrimination based on work and descent in their respective territories and to respect, protect, promote, implement and monitor the human rights of those facing discrimination based on work and descent. All persons of affected communities have the right to enjoy, on an equal footing with others, all civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including but not limited to: (5)

The right to physical security and life and the right to be free from violence;

The right to equal political participation;

The right to fair access to justice;

The right to own land;

The right to equal access to public and social services;

The right to freedom of religion;

The right to marriage on free will

The right to education;

The right to cultural identity;

The right to equal opportunity and free choice of employment;

The right to equal, just and favorable conditions of work;

The right to be free from forced or bonded labour;

The right to be free from cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment;

The right to health;

The right to adequate food, water, sanitation, clothing and housing;

8. All States have a duty to make sincere efforts to dispel the prejudicial beliefs that constitute, support and reinforce discrimination based on work and descent, including notions of untouchability, pollution and caste superiority or inferiority, as well as to prevent actions taken on the basis of such beliefs.

9. Regional and international bodies, including United Nations bodies and regional inter-governmental bodies, and national and international civil society, including private sector actors such as corporations, schools, hospitals, labour unions, agricultural associations and media practitioners, should provide assistance to efforts toward the effective elimination of discrimination based on work and descent.

GUIDELINES (6)

General measures

10. National and local governments should take all necessary constitutional, legislative, administrative, budgetary and judicial measures, including appropriate forms of affirmative actions and public education programmes, to prevent, prohibit and provide redress for discrimination based on work and descent in both public and private spheres; and ensure that such measures are respected and implemented by all State authorities at all levels.

11. National and local governments should take specific and effective measures to implement laws regarding discrimination based on work and descent including affirmative action.

12. National and local governments should take proper measures to protect affected communities against acts of discrimination and violence, and measures to end impunity for violence against members of affected communities.

13. National and local governments should establish time-bound programmes to enforce the abolition of untouchability and segregation. Legal and judicial mechanisms should be established and enforced including by effectively punishing acts of “untouchability.” Governments should introduce and apply special measures to address the persistence of social norms of purity and pollution.

14. National and local governments should explicitly prohibit by law discrimination based on work and descent, and explicitly provide for criminal and civil remedies in cases of violation. Criminal and civil sanctions should explicitly apply not only to direct violations but also to complicity or aiding and abetting by other actors, including but not limited to corporations and public officials.

15. National and local governments should repeal all existing laws and regulations that directly or indirectly discriminate on the basis of work and descent, including but not limited to laws restricting voting or land ownership rights based on caste or analogous systems.

16. National and local governments should adopt comprehensive plans of action, including specific budgetary measures and create an office to implement and coordinate such plans of action, for the effective elimination of discrimination based on work and descent.

17. National human rights institutions and specialized institutions should be given power to specifically address the problems faced by affected communities. Governments of affected countries should ensure that, where they exist, national human rights institutions and specialized commissions can act independently and effectively in protecting the interest of people affected by discrimination based on work and descent by providing adequate financial, statutory and personnel support. Where such institutions and specialized commissions do not exist, they should be established. Governments should, unless better solutions are found, implement the recommendations of specialized commissions, national human rights institutions and other relevant commissions on measures to eliminate discrimination based on work and descent; and intergovernmental agencies, including UN human rights bodies and agencies, should take note of such recommendations and where necessary provide technical assistance in support of their implementation.

18. In order to achieve not only de jure but also de facto equality and non-discrimination for those facing discrimination based on work and descent, national and local governments should take positive measures to improve the conditions of affected communities, such as special measures for the purpose of securing adequate advancement of affected groups and individuals requiring such protection as may be necessary in order to ensure such groups or individuals equal enjoyment or exercise of human rights and fundamental freedoms in education and employment. (7)

19. Governments should ensure that timely reporting is submitted to all relevant United Nations treaty bodies, giving disaggregated data on discrimination based on work and descent.